The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-12-24
THE WAN. OR cA1.nr..
Lonr. 1saanss Of a nls.Ea,.,

~nPPearanCe Of n NJ.
Two distinct genera Of tSs
or wah; as it is Commonly ~ e ,ne p'nda
bee been !. discovered, one Quite te''e 3D..
81 sant tns an animal kingdom to be- ss 'a1
s s'eda BY a great chain, the 10 .'p1
would form the link conr 't paq}
raecoon-l Ike animals, or, to Ss t. +
bears. WIN the tu
The panda of this sketch :. L.
as A'1u'us Julgens, and is a bo anoV
little creature, about the size " psaatlf
having many ways and habits ths a e1
to mind these domestic pets, ' 1,s g
has an expression that NAV ds as I'd
as lnquisitive. Its fur is e st1salas
handsome, being soft and thie elensl
i1s tall-a most conspicuous obi.a ~
is very long and plume-like, and soas1
lngly much larger than the wsh i s'ta9
Even in its color, the animal is ro, a,s ~
able, If we call to mind the e%olorina ]
most of our quadrupcds, such ,s s.
and bears, that, as a rule. ars 10 VA Va,
ABOVE and light beneath. In the na N
this is reversed. The back co,o psuu
rleh clnnamon-red, gradually mergi !,
into a tawny yellow or fawn, Will ~
stead Of being white beneath, the f ~,
is a deep black-its rich luster ra.a ~
bling the finest satin. The face 81 ~
panda has some white colorinp, an,
inc tail is extremely noticeable for it.
ornamentation, being ringed with ii
ternate stripes Of cinnamon.red and
yellow. Its colors so impressed tb1
famous naturalist, Cuyier, that ,f,o1
examining a specimen, he pronounced
1t the most beautiful of all quadrupods
Some years ago a panda was brouebs
TO England and placed in the coljec.
ton OF the London Geological Society
and watched by n~aturalists for a lon,
time. So curious were its movements
that it attracted universal atteption
In the first place its walk was seen n
be plantigrade, as in the true hears.
in other words it walked on its wboIa
foot-an instance of the reverse al
plantigradc being seen in the horse,
that walks upon the tip of its four toes
-on its toe-nails, in fact.
II we examine the soles of the panda's
'eet we shall find them protected With
voolly covering, and many assume from
his that the animal does not come from
! tropical climate, and this is the ease.
t having been discovered by General
tardwicke. the English naturalist, in
ne Eastern Himalayas, where in high
attitudes. above the snow-line, it maia
is home; frequenting the borders Of
ushlng mountain torrents. and making
$ nest among the rocks and caves Of
lmost inaccessible regions.
For many years this one specimen
'as the only representative, and up ia
ne year 1874 the animal was supposed
, DC confined to the locality in which
was originally found; but about this
me the Able David discovered that it
[so lived in the lofty ranges of East
IN Thibet. He also heard the Chinese
speak of a wonderful animal
hich they called the Pae-Shioung, this
Gaming literally white bear. The
lnters described it as one of the most
'autiful OF all animals; a bear with q
at OF pure white, not coarse, but Of
lk-like s%oftness. The story wa doubt
| at first, but finally the able obtained
specimen of the animal-a beautiful
that Milne Edwards named the
'turopus melanoleucus.
appearance the newly-discovered
usin OF the panda is extremely strik.
9. 1t resembles a large bear in size
a appearance, with a pure white coat,
tn the exception of a black band
ross the back. The new panda is
ly found in the highest forests, where
is said to live upon vegetable food,
lch after the fashion of bears in cen.
u. A specimen, l believe, has never
an brought to the United States. and
IN the small panda is SO rare that
' collections boast Of onc.-GoldM
90.